Sheep Industry News August 2022

Brito, Posbergh Among Young Researchers in Industry

A mong the bright, young minds populating the university research side of the industry are Dr. Luiz Brito of Purdue University and Dr. Chris Posbergh of Montana State Uni versity. Both grew up on livestock operations and have a sincere interest in pushing the American sheep industry forward in the years to come. Th two sat down to discuss their backgrounds and how that plays into their current research. SG USA: Gentlemen, what is your background and how did you become involved in genetic research with your respective universi ties? LUIZ: I have been involved in animal agriculture since an early age, as I grew up on a livestock farm in the Southeast of Brazil. I have always been very passionate about small ruminants and since the beginning of my undergraduate studies, I have actively researched genetics and genomics of sheep and dairy goats from a quantitative perspective. Aft r earning my master’s degree in Quantitative Genetics in Brazil, I moved to Canada to obtain my Ph.D. training at the Uni versity of Guelph, where I performed the fi rst studies for the imple mentation of genomic selection in Canadian dairy goats. During that time, I also had the opportunity to develop part of my Ph.D. research in New Zealand, where I worked with the implementation of genomic selection for growth, carcass and meat quality traits in New Zealand Composite sheep breeds. Th knowledge acquired while in New Zealand made me realize the existing gaps in sheep production systems around the globe and the wide range of possibilities for increasing the long-term sustainability of sheep production in North America and else where. Since joining Purdue University (Indiana) in 2018, I have been welcomed by various American sheep researchers and joined the National Sheep Improvement Program technical committee. As a result, I have had the pleasure to be involved in innovative research projects to advance the American sheep industry. CHRIS: I grew up on a small farm in central New Jersey, where we raised Dorset and Romney sheep that I showed in 4-H. My family still maintains about 30 ewes there, selling breeding stock and hand-spinning fl eces. My passion for genetics originated from a funky-colored lamb we purchased while I was in high school. I became enthralled with understanding how that color originated and trying to learn if I could replicate it further in the fl ck.

Dr. Luiz Brito

From there, I pursued my degrees in animal science at Cornell University. For my Ph.D. projects, I studied the molecular genom ics of complex traits in small ruminants, such as aseasonality, mature body size and coat color. Aft r my Ph.D., I started as an assistant professor of sheep production at Montana State Univer sity in August 2020. My position is 60 percent research and 30 percent in-campus teaching in Bozeman, Mont. While my position requires a broader approach to sheep production than studying solely genetics, I try to maintain a connection to genetic or genom ics in most of my research projects. LUIZ: As an associate professor of quantitative genetics and genomics at Purdue, I am developing an across-species research program in the area of genomics of animal welfare, behavior and overall resilience. My research focuses on both fundamental and applied research to enable a comprehensive characterization of the genomic background of livestock populations and numerous relevant traits. For instance, my team is working closely with Dr. Ron Lewis (University of Nebraska-Lincoln) and colleagues from the U.S. SG USA: What is the current work you are doing regarding the American sheep Industry?

See YOUNG RESEARCHERS on Page 20

18 • Sheep Industry News • sheepusa.org